When Science Museums Re-imagine Their Social Roles: Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this chapter, we examine how science museums faced collapse and responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through online publicly accessible initiatives (e.g., virtual exhibitions, community conversations, forums, social media programs, descriptions of exhibits, and position statements) that sought public engagement with this complex issue. Informed by theoretical perspectives related to generations of science museums—and particularly, fourth generation commitments to criticality, social responsibility, and civic agency—we focused on online initiatives developed by the Museu do Amanhã [Museum of Tomorrow] (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), the Museum of Science (Boston, U.S.) and the Royal B.C. Museum (Victoria, Canada). Our analysis revealed that the pandemic impacted these institutions internally and externally as they had to look inwards, rethink priorities, consider how to establish renewed relationships with visitors, and develop new ways to carry on practices. Furthermore, the unexpected and uncertain events of the pandemic prompted an (implicit) enactment of particular facets of fourth generation science museums. Four key drivers clustered and were particularly powerful and prevalent –empathy, epistemic democracy, allyship, and the role of contextualized knowledge.